BILL NUMBER: AB 2273	CHAPTERED  09/19/00

	CHAPTER   527
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 19, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 18, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 31, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 31, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 29, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 25, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 20, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MARCH 29, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Aroner
   (Coauthor: Senator Perata)

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2000

   An act to amend Sections 4 and 5 of Chapter 317 of the Statutes of
1913, relating to City of Richmond tidelands, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2273, Aroner.  City of Richmond tidelands.
   Existing law authorizes the City of Richmond to lease, for a term
not to exceed 25 years, any wharves, docks, or piers constructed by
it.
   This bill, in addition to authorizing the lease of wharves, docks,
and piers, would authorize the City of Richmond to lease other aids
or improvements to commerce, navigation, and other trust purposes.
The bill also would increase to 55 years the term of the leases the
city is authorized to enter.
   The bill would authorize the State Lands Commission to make
certain conveyances of tide, submerged, and other lands, enter into
agreements, execute patents, and receive and accept lands, for the
purposes of effectuating enumerated exchanges, agreements, and
adjustments related to the Richmond Harbor Development Area and lands
included in Tideland Survey Number Eight.
   The bill would authorize the City of Richmond to terminate the
public trust over portions of granted tidelands under certain
circumstances.
   The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an
urgency statute.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  As used in this act:
   (a) "City" means the City of Richmond, a municipal corporation of
the State of California, in Contra Costa County.
   (b) "Granted lands trust" means the statutory trust created by the
grant of tidelands to the City of Richmond in Chapter 317 of the
Statutes of 1913.
   (c) "Public trust" means the public trust for commerce,
navigation, and fisheries.
   (d) "Redevelopment agency" means the Richmond Redevelopment
Agency, a public body, corporate and politic.
   (e) "Richmond Harbor Development Area" means those lands being a
portion of Lots 18, 19, 30, and 31 Section 24, and a portion of Lots
2 and 3, Section 25, Township 1 North, Range 5 West, Mount Diablo
Base and Meridian, as shown on the map entitled "Map No. 1 of Salt
Marsh and Tidelands" filed June 11, 1917, Rack Map No. 9, in the
office of the Recorder of Contra Costa County, California, more
particularly described as follows:  The Remainder Parcel and Parcel H
as shown on Parcel Map MS 753-98 filed December 29, 1998, in Book
176 of Parcel Maps, Page 11, Contra Costa County Records.
   (f) "Surplus property authority" means the Surplus Property
Authority of the City of Richmond, a surplus property authority
created pursuant to the Municipal Federal Surplus Property Law of the
State of California.
   (g) "Tideland Survey Number Eight" means those lands being a
portion of Sections 24 and 25, Township 1 North, Range 5 West, Mount
Diablo Base and Meridian described in the patent recorded in Book 1
of Patents, Page 57, January 20, 1868, Contra Costa County Records.
  SEC. 2.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows:

   (1) Certain of the tide and submerged lands within Tideland Survey
Number Eight and the Richmond Harbor Development Area, both filled
and unfilled, have been authorized to be, and have been, laid off and
sold to private parties pursuant to various acts, including an 1863
statute entitled "An Act to Provide for the Sale of certain Lands
belonging to the State" (Ch. 397, Stats. 1863) and an 1868 statute
entitled "An Act to Survey and Dispose of Certain Salt Marsh and
Tidelands belonging to the State of California" (Ch. 543, Stats.
1867-8), as amended.
   (2) Certain of the tidelands within Tideland Survey Number Eight
and the Richmond Harbor Development Area were authorized to be, and
were, granted to the city subject to the public trust and certain
other restrictions, by Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1913.
   (3) In 1916, the city and certain private claimants of tide and
submerged lands entered a land title settlement agreement in an
effort to resolve disputed title to tide and submerged lands,
including lands within Tideland Survey Number Eight and the Richmond
Harbor Development Area.  The principal object of the 1916 agreement
was to remove obstacles that prevented the implementation of a
program of harbor development in furtherance of the city's 1913
grant.  Pursuant to the 1916 agreement, the private parties conveyed
to the city tide and submerged lands that had been claimed to be in
private ownership and that were needed by the city for the planned
program of harbor development.  The 1916 agreement further provided,
regarding certain other privately claimed lands, that it was the
parties' intention that the private parties' claimed title to the
lands be confirmed.  Thereafter, bulkheads were built, channels
dredged, fill placed, streets dedicated, and harbor facilities built
in reliance on the plan embodied in the 1916 agreement.  Properties
that were not conveyed to the city were subsequently conveyed by the
private parties to others, also in consequence of the 1916 agreement.

   (4) On one of the parcels not conveyed to the city, Ford Motor
Company constructed, in 1931, an automobile assembly building, which
has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  A
portion of the Ford Assembly Building was built on pilings over
water, and cargo vessels were used in connection with the operations
at the Ford Assembly Building.  The Ford Assembly Building has been
idle for many years and was severely damaged during the 1989 Loma
Prieta earthquake.  There is now a plan for adaptive reuse of the
Ford Assembly Building, most of which sits on filled land that at one
time was tide and submerged land.  These plans include provision for
public access along the waterfront perimeter of the Ford Assembly
Building, as well as commercial recreation uses on the portion of the
plant adjacent to the water.  The access plans are part of an
overall public access plan for the entirety of the Richmond Harbor.
   (5) There is uncertainty concerning the validity and the
geographic extent of title to the parcel upon which the Ford Assembly
Building is built and other adjacent and nearby parcels within
Tideland Survey Number Eight.  There is also uncertainty concerning
whether this property is subject to the public trust or other
encumbrances that may have arisen because the lands were once
sovereign lands of the state.  The state contends that a portion of
the property was not conveyed by it either to private parties or to
the city, and that other portions, assuming that they were legally
conveyed, are held today subject to the public trust.  The city
contends that it or certain other public or private entities hold
those disputed areas in fee simple, free of the public trust or any
other encumbrances.  It is in the public interest that this dispute
be resolved in a manner that furthers public trust purposes.
   (6) These disputes limit the potential development of the Richmond
Harbor Development Area and other property within Tideland Survey
Number Eight, threaten the city's ability to preserve the historic
Ford Assembly  Building, and render uncertain the expansion of
desirable public access and commercial recreation facilities along
this portion of the Richmond waterfront.
   (7) It is intended that the resolution of these disputes and the
consolidation and adjustment of public and private ownerships will be
accomplished by and through exchanges of and boundary adjustments to
lands referenced above.  These exchanges and adjustments shall be
for the purpose of effectuating the proposals referenced in paragraph
(4) for the Richmond Harbor Development Area, including the public
trust uses, and facilitating related plans for developing facilities
outside the Richmond Harbor Development Area.
   (8) The proposed exchanges, agreements, and adjustments will not
interfere with, and will, in fact, be consistent with and further the
purposes of, the public trust if all of the following occur:
   (A) The value of any lands or interests in lands to be conveyed
and made subject to the public trust, the value of any public trust
easements to be conveyed or created, and the value of any public
trust interest created regarding certain of the areas in dispute, and
other areas, taken together, exceeds the combined value of the lands
to be conveyed subject to the public trust easement, the land to be
conveyed free of any public trust interest and the value of the
public trust interest to be terminated pursuant to exchanges,
agreements, and adjustments.
   (B) The lands over which the public trust will be terminated have
been filled and reclaimed, those parcels consisting entirely of dry
land lying above the present mean high tide line, and are not
necessary in their public trust encumbered status for the highly
beneficial program for development of the waterfront of the city,
represented by the plans for the Richmond Harbor Development Area and
plans for related or supporting facilities outside the Richmond
Harbor Development Area, due to the current state of the lands.
   (C) The lands over which the public trust will be terminated are
nonwaterfront, having been cut off from direct access to the waters
of San Francisco Bay by past filling of intervening property.
   (D) Streets in or serving the Richmond Harbor Development Area and
other property within Tideland Survey Number Eight have provided,
and will continue to provide, public access to the water.
   (E) The lands over which the public trust will be terminated
constitute a relatively small portion of the tidelands granted to the
city.
   (F) The lands over which the public trust will be terminated are
no longer needed or required for the promotion of the public trust or
the granted lands trust, and the lands to be acquired through the
exchange will serve public trust needs.
   (b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature, on, and subject
to, the terms and conditions set forth in this act, to authorize,
ratify, and confirm any agreement by the city and State Lands
Commission, or by the city and State Lands Commission with any public
or private entity, to enter into an exchange or exchanges of tide or
submerged lands, or settlement regarding conflicting claims of
ownership, and by that agreement or settlement terminate the public
trust over filled tidelands consistent with the findings and
declarations stated in this act.
  SEC. 3.  For the purposes of effectuating the exchanges,
agreements, and adjustments referred to in Section 2, the State Lands
Commission may do all of the following:
   (a) Convey to the city, redevelopment agency, surplus property
authority, or any private party, by patent, all of the right, title,
and interest held by the state by virtue of its sovereign trust title
to tide and submerged lands, including any public trust interest in
and to all of the historic tide and submerged lands within the
Richmond Harbor Development Area that are now above the mean high
tide line, subject to the reservations that the State Lands
Commission determines to be appropriate.
   (b) Because of the factual circumstances listed in Section 2,
enter an agreement and execute a patent or patents to the city,
redevelopment agency, or any private party through which it may
recognize a proprietary fee interest in lands below the mean high
tide line at the Ford Assembly Building, reserving therefrom a public
trust easement.
   (c) In the property included within the perimeter description of
Tideland Survey Number Eight, but outside of the Richmond Harbor
Development Area, enter into agreements with the city, redevelopment
agency, surplus property authority, or any private party to settle
the location and extent of land subject to the public trust, or enter
into exchange agreements pursuant to Section 6307 of the Public
Resources Code.  Land received or confirmed in the state as public
trust lands through such agreements shall be patented by the State
Lands Commission to the city, to be held in trust by the city as
lands subject to the public trust, and the terms, conditions, and
reservations of the granted lands trust and other reservations that
may be included in the patents by the State Lands Commission.
   (d) Receive and accept on behalf of the state in its sovereign
capacity any lands or any interest in lands, conveyed to the state in
its sovereign capacity pursuant to this act and pursuant to any
exchange, agreement, or adjustment authorized, ratified, or confirmed
by this act, including, but not limited to, any public trust
easement conveyed to the state in its sovereign capacity.
   (e) Convey to the city by patent all of the right, title, and
interest of the state in any lands conveyed to the state in its
sovereign capacity pursuant to this act and pursuant to any exchange,
agreement, or adjustment authorized, ratified, or confirmed by this
act, including, but not limited to, any public trust easement,
conveyed to the state in its sovereign capacity subject to the terms,
conditions, and reservations that the State Lands Commission
determines are necessary to meet the requirements of this act and the
granted lands trust.
  SEC. 4.  In determining the value of any tide or submerged lands to
be conveyed under this act, the city and the State Lands Commission
shall give effect in their evaluation to all factors bearing upon the
value, if any, of the public's interest being conveyed, released,
quitclaimed, or settled, and the rights, claims, and equities of the
person in whose favor the conveyance, release, quitclaim, or
settlement is being made and the predecessors in interest.  In those
cases in which the lawfully sold tide or submerged lands have been
filled, reclaimed, or improved without the expenditure of either
state funds or of public moneys held in trust, the lands may be
valued by excluding the value of the fill or improvements, or both.
Consideration under this act may consist of lands, property, interest
in property, easements, moneys, or other things of value given by
the grantee or any other person.
  SEC. 5.  Section 4 of Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1913 is
amended to read:
  Sec. 4.  The City of Richmond may lease for a term not exceeding 55
years any wharves, docks, piers, or other aids or improvements to
commerce, navigation, and other trust purposes constructed by it.
  SEC. 6.  Section 5 of Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1913 is
amended to read:
  Sec. 5.  The City of Richmond may lease the lands conveyed to it by
Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1913, for a term not to exceed 55
years and upon which wharves, docks, or other aids or improvements to
commerce, navigation, and other trust purposes have not been
actually constructed.  The leases shall not be assignable or
transferable, nor shall any lessee have the right to sublet the
leased premises or any part thereof except by the consent of the city
council of the City of Richmond set forth in an order of the city
council.
  SEC. 7.  (a) Subject to the requirements for approval by the State
Lands Commission specified in subdivision (b), whenever it is
determined by the city that any portions of the tide or submerged
lands granted to the city, by Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1913 or
other acts of the Legislature, are filled and reclaimed, cut off from
access to the waters of San Francisco Bay, constitute a relatively
small portion of the tide and submerged lands granted to the city,
and are no longer needed or required for the promotion of the public
trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries or the granted lands
trust, and when it is further determined that there is no substantial
interference with the public trust uses and purposes the city may
terminate the public trust over those portions of the tidelands and
exchange those portions of the tidelands, or any interest in those
lands, to any state agency, political subdivision, person, entity, or
corporation, or the United States, or any agency thereof, for lands
or interests in lands of equal or greater value and for purposes of
the granted lands trust.
   (b) No exchange and trust termination under subdivision (a) shall
be effective unless and until the State Lands Commission, at a
regular open meeting with the proposed exchange and trust termination
as a properly scheduled agenda item, does both of the following:
   (1) Finds that the lands or interests in lands to be acquired by
the city and the value of the public trust interest to be created by
agreement of the city have a value equal to or greater than the value
of the tidelands for which they are to be exchanged and the value of
the tidelands over which the public trust will be terminated.
   (2) Adopts a resolution approving the proposed exchange and trust
termination, which finds and declares that the tidelands to be
exchanged and over which the public trust will be terminated have
been filled and reclaimed, are cut off from access to the waters of
San Francisco Bay, constitute a relatively small portion of the tide
and submerged lands granted to the city, and are no longer needed or
required for the promotion of the public trust; and, further, that no
substantial interference with the public trust uses and purposes
will ensue by virtue of the exchange, and trust termination.  Upon
adoption of the resolution, or at the time that may otherwise be
specified in the resolution, the tidelands to be exchanged and with
respect to which the public trust is to be terminated shall thereupon
be free from the public trust.
  SEC. 8.  Any agreement, exchange, or adjustment pursuant to this
act shall be conclusively presumed to be valid unless held to be
invalid in an appropriate proceeding in a court of competent
jurisdiction to determine the validity of the agreement, exchange, or
adjustment, and commenced within 60 days after the recording of the
agreement, exchange, or adjustment.
  SEC. 9.  An action may be brought under Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 760.010) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure
by the parties to any agreement entered into pursuant to this act to
confirm the validity of the agreement.  Notwithstanding any
provision of Section 764.080 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the
statement of decision in the action shall include a recitation of the
underlying facts and a determination whether the agreement meets the
requirements of this act, Sections 3 and 4 of Article X of the
California Constitution, and any other law applicable to the validity
of the agreement.
  SEC. 10.  Agreements, exchanges, or adjustments made by the city,
redevelopment agency, or surplus property authority pursuant to this
act are hereby found to be of statewide significance and importance
and, therefore, any ordinance, charter provision, or other provision
of local law inconsistent with this act does not apply to the
agreements, exchanges, or adjustments.
  SEC. 11.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   The Richmond Harbor Development Area is planned for development by
the City of Richmond and will include important areas of private
development and significant public access elements.  Those public
access elements will tie into a larger area of continuous public
access along the Richmond waterfront.  The redevelopment of the
Richmond Harbor Development Area and larger development projects will
maximize public access to a broad area of the Richmond waterfront,
in furtherance of the public trust and granted lands trust under
which the remaining granted tide and submerged lands are held.  In
order to make lands available for public access, and to terminate
legal uncertainties to title to inland areas for development as soon
as possible, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
